Holly Falls is a 45-foot waterfall on Greenland Creek in Jackson County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 15.1 miles southeast of Cullowhee and roughly 39.9 miles northwest of Greenville as the crow flies.
At 45 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 149th of 288. By form it is a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another. It falls in 2 drops.
The Blue Ridge is the highest part of the southern Appalachians, a range of forested peaks and coves with oak, hickory, tulip poplar and hemlock and spruce-fir on the summits, in one of the wettest climates in the East. Steep mountain streams drop over granite, gneiss and quartzite ledges, giving the region hundreds of waterfalls. Greenland Creek carries 6 recorded waterfalls, and Holly Falls is the tallest of them.
Jackson County holds 79 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Halfway Falls, a tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Macs Falls, a slide waterfall, is under a mile away. Burnt Kitchen Falls, a 45-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away.
Holly Falls is located at 35.1507° N, 82.9980° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.